Blowing it up

I

 follow one important rule when it comes to games I design.  That rule is simple and has  served me to great effect over the years. The origin of this rule dates back to the time I was  freelancing. I was working on a project -- which got killed due to the company going under -- that was sucking the joy out of my soul. Every word was a chore. Every sentence felt like I was pulling teeth. The draft sucked. I rewrote the draft five times, and I hated every word. To say I was miserable is an understatement. 

Cut to a few years later, and I found myself in a job I never thought I would have. I was working with a historic property. One of the founding fathers called me all day to discuss game design. I loved this job, but the job was built on a shaky foundation. No matter how much I loved the property, I did not love working on it. In the aftermath of this, Rogue Games was born. 

In setting up the company, two rules were created. These rules guide everything; no matter what I write, these rules are always there. What are these rules?

1. Our hobby fuels the hobby of others.

2. The setting defines the rules; the rules do not define the setting.

 The first rule is critical. If I am not having fun with what I am working on, those who play the final product will not have fun either. Of course, some laugh at me when I talk about fun, but fun is the key.

I mention all this to tell you I hate what I have created. Yes, hate is a strong word, but as I look over what I have done over the past five days, I genuinely do not like what I see. The dungeon is just a collection of rooms, and nothing is inspiring about them. The map is insipid and has no character. 

Now, I could push on. I might find the plot and have a better dungeon. Yet, I won't. Why I am not having any fun. This really bothered me all day yesterday and made my bad mood worse. But, while reading Multi-Field Inflation from String Theory by Per Berglund and Guoqin Ren, everything cleared.

I found the dungeon. I found the hook. I found the fun.

So as of today, I have started over. A ruined castle. It is from here that everything begins. With this new outlook and starting place, the dungeon is now fun.

So today's entry begins the new outlook. From here on out, my path is clear.

Fun is important. 

[Mushroom cloud with ships below during Operation Crossroads nuclear weapons test on Bikini Atoll], Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print